38°50′27.2″N 77°5′24.38″W

Signature Theatre is an American regional theater company based in Arlington, Virginia that was founded in 1989 by Eric D. Schaeffer,^[1]

Eric Schaeffer resigned on June 23, 2020, amidst multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault.^[2]

Cameron Mackintosh, Terrence McNally, James Lapine, John Kander, and Fred Ebb are among those that have presented works here. Since 1991, Signature has had a long relationship with Stephen Sondheim, producing 30 of his musicals, revues and concerts—more than any other professional theater in the country.^[3]

The theater established a Sondheim Award "as a tribute to America's most influential contemporary musical theatre composer". The first award, to Stephen Sondheim, was presented at an April 27, 2009 benefit with performances by Bernadette Peters, Michael Cerveris, Will Gartshore and Eleasha Gamble.^[4][5][6] The 2020 awardee is Carol Burnett. Recent awardees include Cameron Mackintosh (2017), John Kander (2018), and Audra McDonald (2019).^[7]

In 1989 Signature Theatre began production in the Arlington County Gunston Arts Center.^{[8]: 12, 122} This original home was in the library of a former middle school which had been converted to a black box theater. They rapidly outgrew this facility and in 1993 acquired a defunct Auto Bumper Plating shop, AKA "The Garage", which they converted into a 136-seat black box.^{[8]: 32–40} In 2007, however, in partnership with Arlington County, Virginia, Signature moved into a new $16 million theater complex built in The Village at Shirlington.^[3][9] The first floor of the building houses the Shirlington Branch of the Arlington County Public Library.^[10] The upper three floors house the theater. The complex has an industrial decor, with exposed particle board, pipes and metal sheeting. It includes two state-of-the-art black box theaters. The larger, christened "Max" in honor of Maxine Isaacs, seats 275 and can expand to accommodate 350 patrons. The smaller "Ark", named in honor of Arlene and Robert Kogod, can hold 99. The theaters are built as "square box within a square box, floating on hockey pucks. At $30 a puck. It is built like a soundstage" In addition to the two performance spaces, the complex contains a lobby, meeting rooms, three rehearsal spaces, four individual dressing rooms, three shared dressing rooms, three showers, a cast greenroom, a separate orchestra greenroom, three kitchen areas, scene, prop, and costume shops.^[3][11] The large lobby was named by donors Gilbert and Jaylee Mead in honor Gilbert's late son Rob Mead.^[3]

• 2009 – Regional Theatre Tony Award^[12]
• 2009 Outstanding Resident Musical – Les Misérables.^[13]
• 2006 Outstanding Resident Musical – Urinetown.^[13]
• 2005 Outstanding Resident Musical – Allegro.^[13]
• 2001 Outstanding Resident Musical – Side Show.^[13]
• 1999 Outstanding Resident Play – Nijinsky's Last Dance.^[13]
• 1997 Outstanding Resident Musical – Passion.^[13]
• 1995 Outstanding Resident Musical – Into the Woods.^[13]
• 1993 Outstanding Resident Musical – Assassins.^[13]
• 1992 Outstanding Resident Musical – Sweeney Todd.^[13]

• Helen Hayes Award
• Theater in Washington, D.C.